Lehigh Valley Legal Blog

The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue recently issued a clarification regarding collection of sales tax for retail sales by manufacturers of malt beverages. Based upon inconsistent reports of audits and varying opinions of accountants, the Brewers of Pennsylvania met with the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue and solicited an opinion as to collection and remittance of sales tax by manufacturers of malt beverages when selling at retail.» Read More

A recent string of bad news for Bill Cosby continued last week, as it was revealed that he admitted in a 2005 deposition to obtaining prescriptions for depressants which he intended to use to have sex with a woman. Although much attention has been paid to the scandalous nature of this discovery, it is also important to examine how Cosby’s sealed testimony from a decade ago came to light.» Read More

As we have discussed at length previously, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) in May of 2010 issued a “new” test to determine if an internship can be classified as “unpaid.” As a result of that test, the floodgates opened on lawsuits against employers who used unpaid internships. One of the first such lawsuits involved Fox Searchlight and interns who worked on the Black Swan movie set. » Read More

Although much attention has been given to the ongoing budget battle between Governor Wolf and the Pennsylvania legislature, a little-publicized but important act of bipartisanship emerged from Harrisburg late last week. As has been detailed on this blog, Act 153 of 2014, which mandates certain background checks for employees and volunteers who interact with children, became effective on January 1, 2015. » Read More

Enacted in 1994, the Pennsylvania Contractor and Subcontractor Payment Act (“CASPA”) was intended to provide contractors and subcontractors with additional remedies against persons or entities that do not pay them for their services. Historically, CASPA has applied to all construction contracts and subcontracts within Pennsylvania, with limited exceptions as set forth in the Act. By Opinion dated June 15, 2015, however, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has unanimously decided that CASPA does not apply to construction projects where the project owner is a government entity.» Read More

On June 25, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States (the “Court”) upheld a challenge to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the “Act” or “PPACA”) – a challenge to the Act based on a provision of a law providing tax credits to certain individuals.» Read More

Since its inception, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) and “Obamacare,” has been a lightning rod for controversy. The ACA took center stage before the United States Supreme Court (again) in early March, when the nine Justices heard oral argument in King v. Burwell, a highly anticipated and potentially consequential case. » Read More

There has been no shortage of news stories as of late on the decline of cash in American society, as consumers have come to prefer using debit cards, credit cards, or electronic forms of payment when purchasing goods and services. As such, it should come as no surprise that more and more employers have chosen to pay employees their wages on “payroll debit cards.” Nearly 5 million Americans were paid this way last year, a figure that some expect to double within the next five years.» Read More

There is an old legal adage that states bad facts make bad law. In Hansler v. Lehigh Valley Hospital Network, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit breathed new life into that ancient maxim.» Read More

In a 7-2 United States Supreme Court Opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts, the Court addressed the issue of when online rants constitute free speech versus when they amount to criminal threats. » Read More